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A Perfect View
16 Jun, 2011 By: Lynn AllenCircles and Lines: After years of requests, AutoCAD users' wishes come true with the Transparency property for objects and layers.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the Winter/Spring 2011 issue of Cadalyst magazine.
One of the biggest crowd-pleasers that was introduced in AutoCAD 2011 (and remains available in AutoCAD 2012) is transparency. Perhaps that's because it has been on the top of many a wish list for numerous years. The biggest request was for transparent hatches (because solid fills mask all the objects underneath them), but AutoCAD 2011 took it one step further. Transparency is now an actual object property that can be applied to objects and layers.
Here's a perfect example of where transparency could really help. The rooms are color-coded with solid fills, but no one can see the furniture or the doors that lie beneath them. 
Solid fills cover valuable information in this drawing.
Selecting one of these solid fills displays the Hatch Editor ribbon, where you will find a slider bar for the Transparency object property.

Sliding that bar to a value of 80 adds a significant amount of transparency. The higher the value, the more transparent the object becomes. The maximum transparency value allowed is 90 (any higher and the object is nearly invisible, pretty much defeating the purpose).

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AutoCAD Tips!
Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's Tips & Tricks Tuesdays free e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is available. All exclusively from Cadalyst! |
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